COWGIRL CLOSETS: SISSY, Double D Ranch's 2021 Summer Collection

Cowgirl Closets: Sissy, Summer 2021

Sissy’s Closet “There are just certain things a girl can’t do.”

“Name one.”

That’s Sissy in a nutshell. She won’t be told what to do or how to act, what she is and is not capable of doing.

Inspiration for this summer’s Cowgirl Closet was the leading lady of the 1980 cult classic Urban Cowboy.

The mechanical bull-riding, beer-drinking, queen of the honky-tonk was strong-willed and determined to prove you wrong. Naturally, that resonated with us.

While the Urban Cowboy movement was considered the first pop-culture craze of the decade and it triggered a trend that could only be described as “gaudy Texas chic”, the Sissy collection is more true to the character herself. Graphic tees with vintage vibes, bandana details, and a whole lotta denim. The colors are patriotic, a bit of an Americana homage to the Lone Star State. Oh yeah, and there’s our spin on the iconic outfit from the film.

“Designing Sissy was a lesson in never-say-never,” laughed DDR designer, Cheryl McMullen. “Never in my life did I dream I would design a cowboy hat with a big feather hatband or a halter-top vest, and yet here we are. On the cover of the catalog, no less!”

Don’t it make you wanna dance?

Liberty & Justice For All Jacket, Sissy’s Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Plaza Charro Jacket, Riata Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry, Vintage Double D Ranch Belt

“Now, you gotta learn something — there are just certain things a girl can’t do.”

- Bud, Urban Cowboy

“Name one.”

- Sissy, Urban Cowboy

Liberty & Justice For All Jacket, Bud’s Boot, Sissy’s Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry, Vintage Double D Ranch Belt

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both pages: Eagle Live Vest Double D Ranch Jewelry

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both pages: Git Buck’d Tee, Bud’s Boots, Sissy’s Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry, Vintage Double D Ranch Belt

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Plaza Charro Jacket, Riata Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry, Vintage Double D Ranch Belt

“You a real cowboy?”

- Sissy, Urban Cowboy

Sissy’s Tank, Sissy’s Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Liberty & Justice For All Tank, Cowgirl Queen Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry

Bandana Blues Scarf, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Urban Cowboy Released in 1980, the film Urban Cowboy was on a cultural cusp.

We were stepping out of the hippie decade into the “Me Generation”.

Wealth was starting to be idolized and thanks to the oil boom, the blue-collar American now had hopes of getting his hands on some. For a West Texas wannabe cowboy, Houston, Texas was the promised land.

If you’ve ever met a roughneck, you know they work hard and play hard. So, if Houston was the promised land, then Gilley’s was Disneyland – the beer-drinking, boot-scootin’, bull-riding “happiest place on earth”.

Longneck bottles and long-legged blondes, and in 1980, nary a bra in sight. That was the scene. Honkytonk heaven, a setting rife with temptation of every sort. That was the backdrop for the lop-sided love story of Bud and Sissy.

The film, originally an article by Aaron Latham written for Esquire in 1978, was loosely based on real-life couple and Gilley’s patrons, Donald “Dew” Westbrook and Betty Jo Helmer (now Jones). When studio heads wanted to take Gilley’s to Hollywood, coowner Sherwood Cryer gave them a Texas-sized “hell no”, and Hollywood came to Gilley’s. And the rest, as they say, is honky-tonk history.

Chick’s Fiddle Jacket, Little Joe Boot, Cowgirl Queen Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Chicks Fiddle Top, Little Joe Boot, Double D Ranch Jewelry, Vintage Double D Ranch Belt

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Double D Ranch Jewelry

Chicks Fiddle Top, Double D Ranch Jewelry, Vintage Double D Ranch Belt

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Liberty & Justice For All Vest, Cowgirl Queen Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry

Bud & Sissy Bandana Dress, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Americana, The Beautiful Oscar Betz just might’ve outdone himself.

In our first collection collaboration with the iconic artisan, Betz has brought the patriotic palette of Sissy to his signature style of chandelier earrings and it’s even more breathtaking than we imagined.

“We sought out all the antique Venetian trade beads we could find in that colorway, some of them are seven layers, which are the elites, the most valuable and incredibly hard to find,” Cheryl said.

“That’s why this signature series is limited to only six pairs, because of the rarity of these beads.”

Oscar complemented the beautiful beads with colorful cabochons of lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl, and red coral, all hand cut and hand set in sterling silver chandeliers, numbered and signed by the artist himself.

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Double D Ranch Jewelry

LIVE from Pasadena Tee, Bandana Blues Jean

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Freedom Bandana Legging, Little Joe Boot

Don’t It Make Ya Wanna Dance Top, Double D Ranch Jewelry, Vintage Double D Ranch Belt

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Double D Ranch Jewelry

Line Dance’n Top, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Texas-Sized Nightclubs “Holy sh*t. This place is bigger than my whole hometown!”

– Bud Davis, Urban Cowboy They say everything is bigger in Texas, and it when it comes to honky-tonks, there is certainly no denying that. Among them, the original Gilley’s in Pasadena, Texas. The famed dancehall once held the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest honky-tonk at a staggering 70,000 square feet. In addition to the enormous dance floor, Gilley’s was home to all the things you’d expect in a honky-tonk – pool tables, a stage, and a bevvy of bars – and a few you might not, like strength-testing punching bags and that unbilled character that was purportedly the world’s first mechanical bull. Gilley’s, named after co-owner and headlining performer Mickey Gilley, was immortalized as both the inspiration and the setting for the iconic film, Urban Cowboy.

Sadly, the original shuttered in 1990, but it was a game-changer that paved the way for boot-scootin’ mega-clubs to come, like Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth and the new Gilley’s in Dallas.

“A lot of people think the movie made Gilley’s,” said Urban Cowboy actor, advisor, and real-life Gilley Rat, Gator Conley.

“But actually, it was the other way around.”

Living in America Top, Bud’s Boot, Blue Collar Poncho Top, Sissy’s Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Ring of Fire Boot, Double D Ranch Jewelry

Urban Cowboy Bling Top, Bud’s Boot, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Plaza Charro Jacket, Riata Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry, Vintage Double D Ranch Belt

both pages: Oil and All That It Implies Vest, Sissy’s Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Bud’s Boot

Living in America Top, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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both pages: Stars at Night Romper, Bud’s Boot, Sissy’s Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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The Stars at Night …are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas.

Movie stars, that is. When it came time for the premiere of Urban Cowboy, it only made sense to have it right here in the Lone Star State, and who better to host Hollywood in Houston than socialite sweetheart (and friend of the DDR family), Lynn Wyatt.

The ever-gracious Wyatt agreed to host the extravagant event on the condition the proceeds benefited a mental health charity she championed. Attended by all of the stars of the film – John Travolta, Debra Winger, sisters Jerry and Cyndy Hall – as well as other Hollywood who’swhos, like Wyatt’s dear friend Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, and George Hamilton.

In an interview with Texas Monthly, Wyatt recounted the weekend, adding entertaining anecdotes from starstudded happenings.

“I had a black-tie dinner party the night before in our house on River Oaks Boulevard,” said Wyatt. “Jerry Hall had this great gold cowboy outfit on. I asked, ‘Where did you get that?’ And she said, ‘It’s George Hamilton’s.’

“The next day, we had the film premiere and gave everybody drinks and popcorn. We then piled into big buses filled with champagne and hors d’oeuvres and rode down to Gilley’s [the bar where the movie was filmed].

That’s when the fun started. I mean, people getting on and being thrown off the mechanical bull, margaritas, a Tex-Mex dinner. Finally, people ended up dancing on the tables like that was the dance floor. It was incredible.”

Stars at Night Top, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Stars at Night Dress, Born in the USA Boot, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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both pages: Liberty & Justice For All Jacket, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Double D Ranch Jewelry

Bandana Blues Scarf

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both pages: Living in America Top, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Little Joe Boot, Double D Ranch Jewelry

Lookin’ for Love Tee, Bandana Blues Jean, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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“You’ve gotta do more than stay on to win a rodeo.

You’ve gotta have flair!”

- Uncle Bob, Urban Cowboy

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Plaza Charro Jacket, Riata Hat, Double D Ranch Jewelry, Vintage Double D Ranch Belt

Bandana Blues Scarf, Double D Ranch Jewelry, Vintage Double D Ranch Accessories

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Mr. Honky-Tonk He may have topped the charts a time or two, but it can be argued that that’s not the most indelible mark Mickey Gilley made on the cultural landscape of country music.

Gilley had music in his blood, literally. He grew up performing with his cousins, the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart. Gilley recorded under a number of labels, had 42 singles make it to the Top 40, and even had more than a dozen hits make it to #1 on the country music charts. He embraced the evolving scene and managed to find crossover success on both country and pop radio, releasing 17 straight Top 10 hits in the half-decade following the release of Urban Cowboy, the cult classic film that put Mickey Gilley and his famed dancehall on the map. The 85-year-old was still performing as recently as last year. But Gilley’s legacy may always be that little piece of Pasadena paradise that bore his name.

Love the World Away Dress, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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both pages: Oil and All That It Implies Top, Love the World Away Scarf, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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both pages: Love the World Away Poncho, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Love the World Away Dress, Double D Ranch Jewelry

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Liberty & Justice For All Jacket, Sissy’s Hat Photographed on location at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth.

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